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the hotel manager s slot and gained both a cred
account keyed to the heat patterns of my face and
access to the glass observation balcony of the hotel.
The floor, railing, and walls were all made of clear
crystan giving a wide-open view of the slowly moving
Ronne Ice Shelf which the hotel was built on. The sea
of ice wore a mantle of newly fallen snow, whipped
about by the howling Antarctic wind. No penguins or
tourists were to be seen outside in the cold, polar
daylight.
Along the balcony beside me stood a cluster of
tourists that you d expect to find anywhere else on the
Earth or Moon. A few of the men wore formal glow
suits with non-wife rentals in multicolored sequin-
infested dresses cut to see-level hanging on their
renters arms. But most of those on the deck wore
usual T-shirts and shorts or plastipants similar to what
I wore.
Most of those on the balcony were pointing toward
some unseen landmark lost in the snow and arguing
about where it must be. I m not sure why this was
important and did my best to ignore them, instead
admiring the cloud of snow that was buffeting the
hotel, giving the illusion that we were hurtling through
space with the giant flakes careening past us.
Though I didn t grow tired of the sight, I knew it
was time to get to work. I took the elevator down to
the main lobby and crossed to the desk.
 Reservations? the highly polished bronze bot behind
the clear counter asked.
 I afraid I don t have any, I replied.  Had to come
here unexpectedly. I'm hoping you have a small room
available.
 Normally we don t. But today s your lucky day
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because a party of four has been lost for two days
now with grave doubts as to whether they ll be
returning. So we re letting out their rooms. Do you
mind a large suite?
I started to protest that it would be too expensive,
then remembered the briefcase full of e-cash that I
was carrying.  No problem.
 I think you ve made a wise decision, the bot said
as I deposited ten of the larger cards into his chest.
 We ll credit the surplus to your account. I think you ll
enjoy your room. It comes complete with a built-in
food and drink dispenser, choice of three uh,
entertainers to help you while away the cold winter
nights, and  
 Could you put my briefcase in a safe place? I
interrupted.
 Most certainly, the bot gushed.
I took out the sack of electronics gear and
purchased, then closed the case and shoved it across
the counter to him.
 I ll put it in our safe immediately. Here s the
bellhop.
A small bot came up to me.  Do you have any
luggage? it squeaked.
 No luggage. Just lead the way.
 Thank you, sir, the bot behind the desk said.
 Enjoy your stay.
I waved and followed the knee high bellhop which
led the way to the elevators with a whirring of servo
motors.
 Here on business, the bot asked as the elevator
doors closed.
 Little business, little pleasure. Not wanting to
reveal more about myself to a machine that was most
likely recording everything I said, I changed the
subject.  Is there a gift shop around here? I ll probably
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be needing some things.
 On the third floor, the bot pointed with a tiny
appendage toward the clear floor above us where a
large shopping mall suspended on stainless steel
beams.  The elevators at the end of each hall will
take you to it. Here we are at your floor. This way,
please.
I followed my round guide down the hallway which
radiated light from its translucent floors. The floors
became an opaque bluish white as we reached the
area of the guest rooms.
The door to my room opened as we approached.
Although it was formed of plastic, my room appeared
to be carved out of the bluish ice with a dark blue
carpet. I regretted that my e-cash would soon run out.
This would be a great place to crash for the rest of my
life.
 The food dispenser is there, the bot said,
pointing with its claw and adding to my remorse that I
wouldn t stay long.  The net-jack and telephone,
there. And the beds fold out from inside those blue
lines in the wall. Tables and chairs are the red circles
on the floor. Just hit the yellow release area for any of
them. The modi-bath is through there. What
temperature would you like your room to be
maintained at?
 Uh, seventy-two Fahrenheit would be fine, I
answered.
 Anything else you need? the bot asked.
 Anything at all, it added in a conspiratorial whisper.
All that was missing was the wicked wink.
 That should take care of me, I said, holding out a
small denom e-card.
The claw darted out of the top of the bot and
snatched the card.  Thank you. Enjoy your stay.
 Wait a minute. Could you get me any Doze-
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Less?
The bot swiveled to face me and was silent a
moment, undoubtedly checking its sources. It finally
spoke.  No problem. Twelve tablets be enough?
 More than.
 I ll bring them to you momentarily. The bot rolled
out the door which closed behind it.
I hit the recessed release studs on the floor and a
small table and chair hissed up. Then I hit the food
dispenser. It had been nearly thirty-six hours since I d
last eaten and I was famished. If I was going to meet
Huntington and risk death again, at least I wanted to
do it on a full stomach.
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CHAPTER 24
he bot delivered the Doze-Less tablets and
I took two. I knew I couldn t go without
sleep for too much longer without starting to
hallucinate so I had to work fast or risk
being sent back to a place like Timothy
Leery s Home for the Addicted. I carefully
assembled the gear I d purchased before my trip and
tapped into the phone line with my new laptop comp.
 All right, Huntington, I said as my computer
searched through the phone logs of the area,  let s
see where you are. Within moments I had the
information and backed out of the system I hoped
before anyone knew I d been in. I had an address
but it didn t do me a whole lot of good since the
Antarctic isn t divided up into addresses like the rest
of the civilized or lack thereof world.
An address of McTavish 121-085 didn t tell me a
lot. Fortunately a trip to a search engine on the net
would help out. I entered the address and crossed my
fingers, hoping Huntington, with all of a whole
continent to choose from, hadn t gone hog wild and
placed his hideout in the middle of the ice someplace
next to nowhere. I was hoping that even someone
with the monetary resources he had would have tried
to save money by keeping his supply lines short,
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locating close to the only major settlement on the
continent.
The page came up, starting with the usual ad.
Planning a Trip to Antarctica?
Fly the Friendly Skies of Yeltsin Airlines.
No frills, just the thrills.
Click here for a travel agent near you.
The ad over, the search engine got down to
business:
The Solar Atlas Search Page.
Search Results of McTavish 121-085:
Earth: Longitude: 70.52°, Latitude: 82.23°
For New Search, Click Here.
For Map, Click Here.
For Hot Naked Bodies, Click Here.
I copied the coordinates to a hard print out, [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]